Photographs from Joe Biden’s inauguration as the 46th US president feature across Thursday’s front pages. The Scotsman hails the new president’s rallying call for America to lift its feet and resume what the paper describes as the long march towards progress.
The Daily Mail says it is a “new dawn for America”. It reports Joe Biden tried to turn the page on four of the most turbulent years in the country’s history in his inaugural address outside the Capitol building.
The Daily Telegraph says the day was a moment of triumph for Mr Biden coming 48 years after he became a senator and 38 years after he embarked on the first of three White House bids. The paper also features a plea from Scottish GPs to be allowed to order Covid vaccines directly to speed up the process.
The photograph in the Times shows Mr Biden embracing his wife Jill after he was sworn in as president. “Joe Biden called for an end to America’s ‘uncivil war’ as he appealed for unity to heal the country’s deep wounds of toxic political tribalism, the pain of the pandemic and racial strife,” reports the paper.
The Daily Express calls Joe Biden’s inauguration the “birth of an era of hope”. It carries Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s comments that this was a “big moment” for Britain with the UK and US now sharing a “fantastic joint common agenda”
“Ready, Steady, Joe”, says the i – calling Mr Biden a “president in a hurry” who signed a blitz of executive orders to undo Donald Trump’s legacy.
The Daily Star focuses on Mr Biden’s predecessor – mocking up a picture of Donald Trump as the Incredible Hulk for its main image. The “incredible sulk” slunk off yesterday, it says.
The Herald also gives over much of its front page to President Biden’s inauguration. But it leads with official figures showing that Scotland recorded the highest number of peacetime excess deaths since 1891 last year. The National Records of Scotland figures revealed the Covid pandemic led to 6,324 more deaths than the average in the previous five years.
The Daily Record splits its front page coverage between the historic events in Washington and the Scottish government’s pledge of an extra £250m to tackle the country’s drugs death crisis. The paper says Nicola Sturgeon’s announcement of a five-year fund is a vindication of its own campaign on the issue.
The Scottish Sun leads with Deputy First Minister John Swinney hitting back at Celtic boss Neil Lennon’s accusation of a political agenda against the club. It follows Celtic’s controversial trip to Dubai which led to 16 players and staff having to self-isolate after a positive Covid test. Mr Swinney said Neil Lennon’s comments were “appalling”.
The National leads on former chancellor George Osborne’s claim that the only way to stop Scotland becoming independent is to refuse a second referendum. The paper quotes the Scottish government’s constitution secretary, Mike Russell, describing the statement as “a view well suited to Joseph Stalin’s USSR”.
The Courier leads with a court case involving a stamp collector who stole a £5,000 Penny Blue from a collector after being asked to value it – before trying to sell it online.
The Press and Journal focuses on a plan for unmanned flights to carry blood products and medicines to rural areas.
The Edinburgh Evening News leads with the court appearance of a man accused of posing as a postal worker to get into a 79-year-old woman’s home before murdering her.
The Glasgow Times has a report on doctors at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital telling of the toll of coronavirus.
The Evening Express leads with a man being jailed for attacking a bus driver and a cyclist in Aberdeen.
The Evening Telegraph also leads with a court case – this time, a man avoiding a jail term after he locked his partner in a house and assaulted her.
